March 21, 2003—The UK government will reportedly soon announce that the minimum wage is to increase to 4.50 an hour—driving up the costs of some support service contracts.
An announcement on the minimum wage was due a couple of weeks ago but due to war talks, had been delayed. However, the recommendations of the low pay commission, chaired by Adair Turner, are likely to be accepted in full, according to an unsourced report on The Guardian Web site.
The 7% increase will take effect in October, with a further increase to 4.85 pencilled in for October 2004. This will depend on the economy managing to survive global downturn. Unions—including the GMB—had been asking for 5 an hour immediately.
The CBI has said that any increase above 4.50 would cause serious problems for vulnerable companies.
-Fiona Perrin
Reprinted with permission; copyright 2003 i-FM
